Abstract:
Highly successful and critically acclaimed, Art of the Electronic Age surveys the extraordinary artistic experimentation of the past twenty-five years and features work by such artists as Christo, Jenny Holzer, Nam June Paik, and Bill Viola. Frank Popper reveals the trends that have emerged from unprecedented innovations in technology: laser and holographic art; video, computer, and communication art; and installation, demonstration, and performance art. Illustrating his text with superb color reproductions, Popper demonstrates that this work did not emerge out of the blue, but clearly evolved from the art that preceded it. Although artists in the electronic age are experimenting with ways and means undreamed of even fifty years ago, their objective is the same as that of artists since antiquity—to create a shared aesthetic experience.

Paula Frosch from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib. in New York writes about the book: “While the aesthetic experience has always meant some interaction among artist, creation, and viewer, the current ‘electronic age’ allows a truly two-way involvement, with the possibility of input from both sides altering the creation. Popper (…) examines the interplay of art, craft, and technology in five major categories: laser and holographic art; video art; computer art; communication art; and installation demonstration and performance art. At a time in which simulation and reality become interchangeable and humans and machines are intellectually connected, Popper grounds these examinations in a traditional focus on origins, artists, and aims. He also looks at the social and political impact of the rapid communication of ideas, experience, and images. The illustrations often explain the phenomena far more clearly than the text and help to point out how the techniques have evolved as well as the unique qualities they possess. Recommended for both lay readers and scholars.” [Frosch, n. d.]

The paperback edition was published in 1997 by Thames & Hudson, London & New York.